


flame

by mixtapestar



Series: building a fire [3]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mosaic Timeline (The Magicians: A Life in the Day), Parenthood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:20:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27271075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixtapestar/pseuds/mixtapestar
Summary: Teddy's keeping a secret.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: building a fire [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971463
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67
Collections: Comfortween 2020





	flame

**Author's Note:**

> For Comfortween Day 29: Supernatural Comfort (use of magic to help comfort someone).
> 
> Thank you Rubi for both demanding this and supporting it along the way. ;)

When Quentin went to pick up Teddy from school on the last day of his second week, one of the teachers pulled him aside with a worried expression that made Quentin's stomach drop to his knees. "What's wrong?" he asked before she could say anything.

She laid a placating hand on his arm. "Nothing major. But Teddy has been… extremely unfocused today. He's normally so attentive and engaged; it definitely seemed out of the norm. Is something going on at home?"

Quentin thought back over the last couple of days, but nothing really stood out. Eliot had been weirdly quiet, compared to normal, which he'd made note of but hadn't necessarily started worrying about yet. Teddy had seemed absolutely fine. But he'd gone off with Eliot for a bath in the stream last night, maybe something had happened? "I can't think of anything, honestly, but I'll check in with Eliot, and we'll have a talk with him. Sorry he's been so much trouble."

She waves him off. "It's no great trouble. Kids get excited. The only worry is the change in his behavior, and that he wasn't willing to talk to any of us about it. Let us know when you come back next week if you have any ideas. We'll keep working with him."

"Absolutely. Thanks, Ms. Alakis."

She wasn't wrong. The moment Teddy saw Quentin there, he shouted, "Dad!" and made a beeline over to him, practically dragging him out the door.

"Hey, bud, what's the rush?" Quentin asked, letting himself be led a little. Teddy was practically vibrating with excitement. The last time he'd been this happy was when they went to the market and Farmer Salazar was socializing his border collie puppies.

"N-nothing. School is over for the week, right? I get to be home with you and Papa!"

"Of course," Quentin said, smiling indulgently. "But let's take it a bit slower, okay? Your Dad's getting older and slower, and home's not going anywhere."

"What was Papa like when you left? Is his toe feeling better? What pattern did you make before you came to get me?"

Jesus. Did they accidentally give him caffeine somehow? "Hey, Teddy?" Quentin stopped to crouch down. "What's going on, bud? You've got more energy than a wind beetle in the Flying Forest."

"I just wanna get _hommme_ ," Teddy argued, pulling on Quentin's hand, but Quentin didn't budge this time.

"We'll get there, I promise," he said, laughing lightly. "But you've gotta tell me what's up first." He tried not to feel worried. It was probably nothing, but this behavior reminded him of his manic days, and he didn't relish the thought that he'd passed down that particular trait to his son. Teddy got very still suddenly, and the worry spiked. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. We can tell each other anything, right?"

Teddy pulled on the edge of his tunic, looking nervous. "But… what if Papa told me not to?"

Quentin frowned. "Papa told you to keep your feelings a secret?"

"No! Not my _feelings_." He gasped suddenly and covered his mouth with both hands.

"Oh. _Oh_ , Papa has a secret, and he shared it with you?" Teddy nodded fervently. "Something I'm not supposed to know about?"

Teddy nodded again, even harder. "But I didn't tell you! Right, Dad? I haven't said _anything_."

He looked so genuinely worried that Quentin's heart hurt. "No, you haven't. You're a great secret keeper."

"You'll tell him, right? I didn't ruin the surprise?" Oh, so it was a _surprise_ now. Quentin let that go for the moment, though, focusing on comforting his son through his now fidgety worry.

"I'll make sure he knows that you went all day without saying _anything_. He'll be so impressed," he assured Teddy. "Hey, you wanna see a new spell I've been working on?" At Teddy's enthusiastic _yeah_ , Quentin worked his fingers into a modification on the dancing lights spell, where the lights appeared like bubbles, and bisected into smaller and smaller lights as you popped them. In the fading light, they looked beautiful, and Teddy gasped when Quentin popped the first one.

Quentin let himself be led again, his mind wandering a little while Teddy recounted his day and occasionally popped another light bubble. For all his teacher said about him not focusing, he certainly had a lot to talk about from the day, so he must not have been a complete lost cause. What kind of secret would Eliot have, that he'd tell Teddy and not Quentin? They'd been down at the stream, maybe Eliot made a really good catch and had a special meal planned for the three of them.

When they got close enough to see the cottage in the distance, Quentin spotted Eliot lounging over the mosaic, his legs stretched out and crossed in front of him. When they got closer, he saw Eliot had the quilt spread out over the tiles, along with two bottles and three cups. Teddy let go of Quentin's hand to make a break for Eliot, who caught him in a fierce hug and magically floated the bottles out of range to keep them from being knocked over. Quentin saw Eliot murmur something to Teddy, who looked more excited than ever.

"Papa says we get to have a drink together before the surprise!"

"Oh, is that so?" Quentin asked, raising his eyebrows at Eliot. He took a spot on the quilt next to Eliot, their hips bumping, and accepted the cup that was handed to him. "Would this be the surprise that kept you distracted _all day_ at school?"

Teddy shrugged, taking his—smaller, magically lidded—juice-filled cup. "They were just telling us about talking animals. I know all about those from your stories."

Quentin had never been sure if it was safe to tell the stories of the Fillory books while living in a past Fillory, but he couldn't help but share his favorite parts with Teddy as he grew up. And honestly, his imperfect memory of the shape of the story probably only helped it in the retelling.

"Teddy," Eliot said firmly, "you promised me that helping with this wouldn't mess up your schoolwork."

"It didn't!" He looked to Quentin pleadingly. "Tell 'im, Dad. I was really good, and I didn't even tell you anything on the way back!"

Quentin was getting more and more curious the longer this went on. He met Eliot's gaze, eyes dancing, and let Teddy off the hook. It was just one day, and clearly Eliot had him all worked up over _something_. "So did I miss an anniversary or something?" he murmured, sipping at his wine.

"Not at all," Eliot said. He seemed… off, a little; distracted. Quentin was pretty sure he wasn't drunk. They didn't keep that much alcohol on hand these days anyway. "Just seemed like a nice day for a drink in the sun. A little mini-picnic."

"A mini-picnic," Quentin repeated dubiously. Still, he decided to stop pushing. Whatever it was had Teddy excited, and Quentin didn't really want to quash that. He'd find out what was up soon enough.

The little lights resembled more of a swarm of bugs at this point, they were so small, so Quentin dismissed the spell and performed it again. The bubbles floated up, and Quentin popped a couple before sending them spinning around their heads.

"Mood lighting, I like it," Eliot said, leaning into Quentin's space. His nose nudged against Quentin's, and he hung there a moment, before finally pressing their lips together.

Teddy seemed suitably distracted by the lights, so Quentin let himself indulge in the kiss a little, sliding a hand just under Eliot's shirt and sliding his tongue forward to swipe over Eliot's lips. Eliot hummed and parted his lips, and they fell into each other for a short while. Quentin finally pulled away when he started to worry about feeling a little too enthusiastic. Eliot, at least, looked a little calmer than he had ten minutes ago.

"Can we do it now, Papa? I finished my drink."

Eliot took a deep breath, and there went the calmness. "Just a second, let me get your Dad in position." Bewildered but a little bit excited, Quentin let Eliot lead him to the base of the mosaic, while Teddy went to the opposite side at Eliot's direction. "Alright, whenever you're ready," Eliot said, and Teddy yanked the quilt away with a flourish.

  
([link to image](http://mixtapestar.com/proposal.png))

Quentin gasped. Underneath, the mosaic looked just the way he'd left it, except a strategic batch of tiles had been replaced around the middle, spelling out, _Marry Me?_ Quentin had been thinking about this, hinting at it, practically _pleading_ at times, and yet _this_ being the surprise hadn't even occurred to him.

"Is… is this why you wanted to do a simpler pattern today?" Quentin asked, kneeling down to rub his hands over the dark red tiles that made up the words. He glanced up at Eliot to see him worrying at his lower lip. "Oh! Oh god, _yes_. Eliot, of course, I've wanted to marry you for—god, so long." He lurched up, throwing himself toward Eliot, who caught him easily enough with magical assistance and held him in the hug, laughing.

"You and Dad are getting married?" Teddy asked excitedly. He balled the quilt in his hands and held it up to his face. "Was that the surprise?"

"It was," Eliot answered him, his voice tinged with happiness. Quentin remembered Eliot's still-healing toe and gradually let himself down from his hold. It was gonna be a long wait until Teddy's bedtime. "You did a great job."

As Eliot led Teddy around to the bottom of the mosaic and knelt down to show him the pixelated letters and explain how he'd spelled out the question, Quentin watched them, playing with his Fillorian charm and fighting against tears. He really, really loved his family.

"You know the jeweler in the market that sells the sea glass you like so much?" Eliot asked. Quentin's breath caught, and he nodded. Eliot touched his fingers reverently to the charm that had it's partner with Arielle. "She's already working on our marriage charms."

Quentin swallowed, unable to stop the tears this time. "That's amazing. I love you so much, El."

Eliot leaned down and pressed a kiss to his forehead before drawing him in to let him cry against his shoulder. "I love you too, baby."

"Papa, why is Dad crying?" Teddy asked, concerned. A little sob escaped Quentin, uncontrollable.

"Tears are a powerful thing," Eliot explained soothingly. "You know how when you're really sad, or really hurt, it makes you cry? Sometimes we cry when we're really happy, too."

Quentin wiped his face on Eliot's shirt in a futile attempt to clean it before looking down at Teddy. "Is that true, Dad?" Teddy asked. "Which tears are you crying?"

Quentin laughs wetly. "The happy kind, bud. The really happy kind." And as if to prove it, he worked his hands in the light spell again, lighting up the three of them in what he can imagine as a beautiful family portrait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments are love!


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